1. Field of the Invention.
This invention relates generally to containers for dispensing liquids and, specifically, to containers for dispensing viscous liquids such as soap.
2. Description of Related Art.
Containers for dispensing viscous liquids, such as soap, which can be mounted on a wall are well known in the prior art. Examples are Kanfer, U.S. Pat. No. 4,582,227, and Hobbs et aL, U.S. Pat. No. 4,651,902. While the prior art is fine for many applications, it has the drawback of not providing a simple, effective means for securely attaching the soap container to the mounting system in a way which will defeat efforts to tamper with either the container or the soap. The prior art also has the drawback of requiring a separate housing which attaches to the mounting system and holds the soap container in place.
In recent years, product tampering and pilfering, and the fear of tampering and pilfering, have grown dramatically. Typically, mountable soap dispensers which have attempted to provide some type of security have relied on encasing the soap container in a housing of rigid plastic and installing some type of locking mechanism on the housing. Although serviceable, this type of arrangement is costly and complicates the task of servicing the soap containers.
This invention is designed so that the container for the soap is integrated with the housing mechanism; in other words, the housing mechanism is the container. Further, the container is blow molded from an inexpensive plastic, such as high density poly-ethylene (HDPE), rather than the expensive, rigid plastics which characterize the prior art. The use of HDPE and blow molding for the container has the additional advantage that the container can be manufactured at a very low cost, which makes it economically feasible to discard the container when it is empty and replace it with a new container full of soap. With the prior art, the expensive containers are typically refilled when empty. The refilling of the prior art containers creates a risk of contamination from micro-organisms which are never really disposed of because old soap and new soap are always being mixed.
For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for a mountable container for viscous liquids, such as soap, where the shape of the container provides the mounting surface, thus eliminating the need for an external housing, and where the container can be secured to a mounting bracket in a way that makes the container and its contents resistant to tampering and pilferage, and where the container is inexpensive enough that it can be disposed of and replaced when empty.